More than half of Puerto Rico remains in drought, but the picture has shifted markedly since early September: the October 1 U.S. Drought Monitor map (data valid September 29) puts moderate drought at 25.6% of the island, severe drought at 19.7%, and extreme drought down to 9.3% - with 11% abnormally dry. Total drought coverage stands at about 54.5%, down from over 70% at the start of September.^[1] The southern aquifer remains the critical lifeline for roughly 130,000 people in Ponce, Juana Díaz, Santa Isabel, Coamo, Salinas, Guayama and Arroyo, where dryness has run deepest since July.^[2] On the money side, the Fiscal Oversight Board authorized $2.4 million of the $9.69 million Governor Jenniffer González Colón requested from the Emergency Reserve - an initial tranche for viability studies and pre-construction work on up to five inactive AAA wells that could supplement water supply. The remaining funds await per-well cost-benefit analyses, with monthly progress reports due to the board starting October 31.^[3] Reservoir levels tell the recovery story: Carraízo - the reservoir whose August dip nearly forced rationing for some 180,000 San Juan metro customers - stood at 40.72 meters on October 5, in the AAA's "seguridad" safety band, and rationing that was suspended in August has not resumed.^[4] Dos Bocas in Arecibo, which swung between overflow alerts and safety status in early September, has also settled.^[5] The National Weather Service had cautioned in late August that Tropical Storm Dolly's rains alone would not end the drought. Five weeks later, the numbers back a more qualified view: rains have pushed reservoirs back toward safety and shaved the extreme-drought footprint by more than half, but with the dry season approaching and the southern aquifer still stressed, the emergency is managed, not over.